Ghost towns of yesterday

Nov. 5, 2009

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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The Swazey Hotel at Bodie State Historical Park, Calif., stands Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1998, as a warped reminder of a thriving wild west town. In 1879, Bodie boasted a population of 10,000 and was second to none for wickedness, badmen, and 'the worst climate out of doors.' One little girl, whose family was taking her to the remote and infamous town, wrote in her diary: 'Goodbye God, I'm going to Bodie.' K.M. CANNON, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Barkerville's main street, taken in June 2004, showing the historic buildings and a small stream of water flowing down its sloped, unpaved, roads. PHOTO COURTESY OF KICKSTART70

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Barkerville's Church of St Saviour (Anglican) on a cloudy day. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE SARJOLA

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The period-style, false fronts of buildings on Main Street in the gold-mining ghost town of Bodie, Calif., are pictured Oct. 18, 1997. The buildings, all circa 1870s, are, from left, the post office, Odd Fellows Lodge, Miners' Union Hall (which is now the gift shop and museum) and the morgue, complete with caskets inside. K.M. CANNON, AP

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Visitors to Bodie State Historic Park north of Mono Lake can tour the deacying remnants of a real Old West ghost Town. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The church at Bodie, California. PHOTO COURTESY OF THOMAS FANGHAENEL

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Taken on a stormy day at the Bodie Historic State Park. PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVE TOUSSAINT/ PHOTOGRAPHERSNATURE.COM

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A wagon sits outside the County Barn in the gold-mining, ghost town of Bodie, Calif., Oct. 18, 1997. The popular tourist attraction draws more than 200,000 tourists annually. K.M. CANNON, AP

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Bodie, California, as seen from the hill looking to the cemetery. PHOTO COURTESY OF FRANCESCO ORFEI

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During the mid 1890s the price of silver dropped and Calico's silver mines were no longer economically viable. With the end of borax mining in the region in 1907 the town became completely abandoned. In 1951, Walter Knott, founder of Knott's Berry Farm, purchased the town and began restoring it to its original condition referencing old photographs. Though five of the original town buildings exist today, many others were recreated as replicas of their originals on preexisting foundations. PHOTO COURTESY OF SVEIN-MAGNE TUNLI

An abandoned house stands on the top the sand in Kolmanskop, southern Namibia. A booming diamond town in the early 20th century, it's now a ghost town, with sand slowly reclaiming its territory. JEROME DELAY, AP

House of the former mine manager in Kolmanskop, Namibia. PHOTO COURTESY OF HARALD S&#252;PFLE

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Abandoned general store in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada. PHOTO COURTESY OF PIERRE CAMATEROS

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Tom Kelly's Bottle House in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada, February 2009. PHOTO COURTESY OF FINETOOTH

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Three-panel panorama of the Montgomery Shoshone Mine & Mill complex, main facility; near Rhyolite, Nevada, in the United States, as it appeared in early 1907. Montgomery Mountain is in the background. A spur line of the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad is in the foreground. The town of Rhyolite is visible in the background, to the right. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,

The Swazey Hotel at Bodie State Historical Park, Calif., stands Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1998, as a warped reminder of a thriving wild west town. In 1879, Bodie boasted a population of 10,000 and was second to none for wickedness, badmen, and 'the worst climate out of doors.' One little girl, whose family was taking her to the remote and infamous town, wrote in her diary: 'Goodbye God, I'm going to Bodie.'K.M. CANNON, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Throughout history, towns have risen and fallen with regional prosperity. As residents moved away after resources were exhausted, the towns became deserted shells of yesterday. Here are a few ghost towns that welcome visitors today to explore and learn of the dreams of those who prospected and sacrificed.

CANADA

Barkerville

Billed as 'British Columbia's Gold Rush Town', Barkerville was the center of the Cariboo Gold Rush. Once the largest city north of San Francisco and west of Chicago, the city grew overnight after gold was discovered in 1861. In 1868 the city was destroyed by a fire and rapidly rebuilt within a couple of months with improvements to the streets and boardwalks. By 1900 the town was declining in population and buildings were deserted. In 1958 it was restored as a historic town and today offers heritage activities, demonstrations and shows reminiscent of the town's heyday.

A prospecting town in the Bullfrog Hills, Rhyolite was founded in 1904 near the region's largest mine, the Montgomery Shoshone Mine, on the eastern border of Death Valley. The town's bank, jail, train depot and a unique Bottle House are still standing in the sheltered desert basin in which around 5,000 people once called home. An Industrialist who owned the mine heavily invested in the towns' infrastructure, and by 1907 the town had modern conveniences including electric lights, three newspapers, a hospital and telephones. By 1920 the mine was exhausted and the population declined to zero in 1924. In 1925, Paramount Pictures restored the town's Bottle House for the filming of "Wanderer of the Wasteland." There are said to be over 50,000 bottles embedded in the walls with adobe mud as a mortar.

A small mining village in the Namib Desert, Kolmanskop originated in 1908 after the discovery of diamonds in the region. With enormous wealth booming, the town was modeled in a German style. After World War I, the town declined as diamond prices reached lows and residents relocated. Visitors today can walk knee-deep through desert sands that are reclaiming the buildings, and photographers flock to the town to capture the scenic settings. Notably, the town was also home to the first x-ray station in the southern hemisphere.

Once a bustling gold mining center in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada. Bodie was founded in 1876 and is preserved today in a state of arrested decay. Many of the interiors remain as they were abandoned with goods still stocked on the shelves. The town's one-mile-long Main Street was once lined by 65 saloons. Murders, shootouts, stagecoach holdups and barroom brawls were frequent occurrences. The Miner's Union Hall, located on Main Street, was the meeting place for labor unions as well as entertainment activities including dances, recitals and concerts- today it is a museum. State Highway 270 is paved for the first 10 miles then continues for the final 3 miles to the park on an unpaved dirt road. Bodie is considered by many as one of the best-preserved views into boomtown life in the late 1800s.

As visitors today arrive to large white letters spelling Calico upon a hill, few know the treasures they will find. Silver mines brought prospectors in 1881 to the Mojave Desert in search of fast fortune, but by the 1890s, mining declined. The town was preserved by Walter Knott, of Knott's Berry Farm and jam fame, who donated the town to San Bernardino County in 1966. The Regional County Park today features the Maggie Mine, the Mystery Shack, a museum, live historical reenactments and a medicine man show. Many seasonal festivals are also hosted at the park.

An abandoned medieval village overlooking the Cavone River valley, Craco dates back to the 8th century. The town was built on a steep summit for defensive reasons and the community was very heavily influenced by religion throughout the centuries. It declined as landslides destroyed parts of the town in the 20th century. Due to its unique landscape, the town has been used in many films including "Quantum of Solace" and "The Passion of The Christ."

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